


Coffee

by TrickyJerseyGirl



Series: It's Tricky to Rock a Hunter [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Archangel Gabriel (Supernatural), Eventual Relationships, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Gabriel (Supernatural) is Loki, Gabriel is a Little Shit, Gabriel is a Softie, Gabriel is a Tease, Gabriel is a showoff, Gabriel is creative, Gabriel is romantic, Gabriel is sweet, Gabriel likes beignets, Heterosexual Character, Hunters like coffee, Kissing, Neck Kissing, Norse Mythology - Freeform, Psychic Abilities, Romance, Tricksters are tricky, Tricksters make good dates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-09-21 01:50:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9526550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrickyJerseyGirl/pseuds/TrickyJerseyGirl
Summary: Second date time for Gabriel aka Loki, and he has a hell of a night planned. But will it be enough to woo a hunter? Depends how she feels about cemeteries, picnics, a little time travel, some great music, and a whole lot of tricky romance.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Prequel to the series "How to Make a Family" by myself and Nadia Hart.

Part 2: Coffee

She didn’t bother getting out of bed until nearly three in the afternoon. And even then, she was sorely tempted to lounge around for another hour, maybe two, but then she noticed something -- her apartment smelled of coffee. Her tiny apartment. The one she lived in by herself. She slid a knife out from under her pillow and silently walked out of her bedroom.

She quickly realized the place was empty. And what was causing the smell -- on her kitchen counter was a large to-go cup of chicory coffee, a sugar stick for stirring, a tiny pitcher of real cream, and a fresh, still warm beignet. There was also a magnolia branch in full bloom, with a folded piece of paper learning against it. She put down the knife and opened the note: Be awake, but don’t ruin your appetite. And watch out for that sugar. Or let me instead. See you at nine. Dress for adventure. L.

The “L” was signed with a flourish, of course. She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t stop herself from smiling. He was a charming son of a bitch.  
***  
Dress for adventure. Tia puzzled over those words as she stood in front of her closet a few hours later. Finally, she decided to take him literally. She pulled out her "hunting" jeans, the ones she'd had a seamstress friend alter by adding a gusset in the crotch, which was the only way to make them fighting- and running-friendly. Plus, she liked how they fit in the ass. She topped them with a Run-DMC t-shirt. She wasn't a huge fan of rap, but it said "It's Tricky" across the front, which she thought would make Loki laugh. She pulled out her battered Doc Martins, which were far more comfortable than sneakers. Finally, she stuffed a few hunting essentials in her pockets -- a small blade, salt, a vial of holy water. While she doubted this would be a kill-heavy date, she assumed that, by adventure, he meant ... well, adventure.

Tia's doorbell rang promptly at 9:00 p.m. Loki stood on her doorstep in jeans and a forest colored cotton button-down that made his eyes practically glow green. When he saw her, he grinned widely and exclaimed, "I knew it. I knew it! If I'd had someone to bet, I would have won." 

Tia smiled and shook her head. "I would share your enthusiasm if it made the slightest bit of sense to me." She stepped out her door, locking it behind her.

Loki bent to retrieve the picnic basket at his feet. Tia would have sworn on a stack of Bibles that it wasn't there a moment ago. "Some women, when told to dress for adventure, would be wearing something that screamed sex. But you, well ... the way you're dressed, you're ready for just about anything. And somehow," he grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, "you make a t-shirt and jeans scream sex." He wiggled his eyebrows. "At least to me."

Tia laughed. "And here I thought everything screamed sex to you." She matched his steps as they walked down the street. "So this was a test? I'm not sure how to feel about that."

"Not a test," Loki protested. "More like ... a quiz. If you wore a microdress and 4-inch heels, we would be headed one way. But since you're ready for a real adventure, we're headed a completely different way. And I think you'll like this direction much better."

"Which begs the question," Tia said. "Where are we going?"

Loki grinned. "St. Louis #1," he answered, and snapped his fingers.

They were standing in front of Marie Laveau's tomb. The white marble glowed in the moonlight, marred only by the XXX's scrawled in marker, nail polish, and anything else that could be found in a stupid tourist's pocket or purse.

"So. Why here?" Tia asked.

Loki shrugged. "Because it's quiet, the architecture is beautiful, and where would be more fitting to begin an adventure in New Orleans than before the Voodoo Queen's final resting place?" He bowed in the direction of the tomb, a gesture of respect.

"You have a valid point," she conceded.

They strolled along the narrow aisles between the mausoleums until they came to a relatively flat spot. Loki reached into the picnic basket and pulled out a blanket, which he spread on the ground. He gestured to Tia to sit as he pulled item after item out of the basket: a thermos of coffee and two mugs, a fat loaf of freshly baked bread, a large hunk of cheese, a few apples, a couple of plates, some utensils ... Tia started to wonder if her date had taken a cue from Dungeons & Dragons, because that basket seemed pretty bottomless. When she asked him, he laughed and answered, "Not D&D - Doctor Who. The basket is bigger on the inside."

Loki pour the coffee while Tia cut some bread and cheese, and sliced up a few apples. “I admit,” she said. “I was expecting wine.”

“I can make that happen, if you like,” he said, handing her a steaming mug. “But I plan to keep you out very late. So that means I need you awake. However, since I also prefer you happy, it’s possible I added a little whiskey.”

She sipped, then smiled. “Or a lot of whiskey.”

“Mmmaybe,” he shrugged, and winked. 

She laughed. They fell into a companionable silence as they began to eat, but soon Tia remembered a few questions she wanted to ask. "I've been wondering," she began. "How many of the Norse myths are true? Are they even close, or is it like the Bible - written primarily for the masses?"

"Hmm. How much of the legends have you read?"

Tia smiled. "I'm a hunter, sugar. Myths and legends are the meat of my little world. I've read the Poetic Edda cover to cover, more than once."

"Alright," Loki nodded, "so you won't need the Cliff’s Notes. Excellent." He paused and took a huge bite of apple. "To begin with, I didn't get Baldur killed. Not that the thought hasn't crossed my mind over the millennia, but the little jerk is still alive and kicking."

"Not a lot of love lost there, huh?"

"If you met him, you'd understand. 'Look at me, I'm so perfect! I'm so pretty! Allfather loves me best!' He's a tool."

Tia laughed so hard she almost choked. When she caught her breath, she asked, "Okay, what else?"

Loki thought a moment. "I was never a pregnant mare. That was a total lie. Snorri really knew how to hold a grudge."

"I'd forgotten about that one," Tia said. "And I suppose Snorri didn't have a really good reason for that grudge, did he?"

"It was all a misunderstanding," Loki said airily.

"No doubt."

"Alright," he said, "now it's my turn to ask a question."

"Fire away," she said.

"What was the first album you bought with your own money?"

The question startled a laugh out of Tia. "Not the question I was expecting."

"And what question were you expecting?" he asked with a grin.

"One at a time!" she said. "Okay, the first album I bought with my own money. Billie Holiday, The Decca Years. I was 12 years old, and it took me weeks to save up my babysitting money. I practically wore holes in that CD, I played it so much."

"Billie Holliday? A 12-year-old, picking out Billie Holliday." Loki shook his head. "You are just full of surprises, you know that? What was your favorite song on that album?"

Tia smiled mischievously. "Crazy, He Calls Me."

Loki laughed aloud, and after a beat, Tia joined him.

"Okay," he said, when they caught their breath. "Your turn."

Tia thought for a moment. "I could ask myth questions all night and still not run out. But that might get boring for you, and" -- she looked at him flirtatiously from underneath her lashes -- "I'd just kick myself if I allowed you to get bored."

Loki reached out and tucked an errant lock of hair behind her ear. "I sincerely doubt you could bore me, gorgeous girl. Do your worst."

"Why do you call me Gigi?"

Loki smiled. "I told you, it's easier to say than repeating gorgeous girl all the time, and Ell-ell, for lovely lady, doesn't have the same ring to it."

"So you didn't know that my middle name is Brigitte?"

"No," he answered, "but now I'm definitely going to call you Gigi."

"In that case," Tia responded, "I get another question. In exchange for you sticking me with a nickname." She gestured in the direction of Marie Laveau's tomb. "How well did you know the Voodoo Queen?"

Loki smiled, but looked a little puzzled. "Why do you ask?"

Tia shrugged. "It's in the way that you say her name, how you looked at her tomb. You knew her, and well."

"Oh, you're good. You're right. I knew the Widow Paris. We were friends for years. Occasionally we were lovers."

"What happened?" Tia asked.

"She figured out what I was, and when I couldn't give her eternal life or youth, she cursed me and kicked me out of her house." Loki shrugged. "Damballah still holds it against me - she was his favorite."

Tia sighed. "You have led an interesting life."

"So have you, Gigi. Probably more interesting than mine, considering that you have had way less time to live it in. I've been around forever, but you - you've seen and done at least as much cool shit as I have, in a fraction of the time."

Tia thought about that, as she ate another apple. Loki kept silent while she contemplated his words.

Finally, she gave him a considering look. "So," she said. "What you're trying to tell me is, you're quite the cradle robber." The tension broken, they both laughed long and hard.

Tia had some more coffee, then touched her face, smiling. “My cheeks actually hurt,” she said. “I can’t remember the last time I laughed this much. And I have a feeling that you’re just getting started.”

"That I am, Gigi. That I am." Loki paused, then looked at his watch. "We need to make ourselves scarce for about, say, a half hour or so." He stood and offered her his hand.

"And why is that?" she asked as she let him help her up.

"New Orleans' Finest patrols the cemeteries, and they're pretty serious about keeping people out at night. Now, I could make us invisible, but since it fits in with my plans for this evening, well..."

"I get it," Tia smiled "Where are we headed now?"

"The Mississippi Delta," Loki said, and snapped his fingers.

They stood on a dirt road. In the distance, Tia saw a ramshackle building, all lit up, with music pouring out the open door.

"I hope you like to dance," Loki grinned, "since I already know you like delta blues." He started walking down the road, and she followed suit.

As they approached the building, they saw other people, singles and couples, headed the same way. Tia could tell by their clothes that they had left the 21st century behind.

"When are we?" she whispered fiercely to Loki. 

He looked sidelong at her, with that grin that screamed trouble. "I'm not exactly sure. What year was Robert Johnson performing as an itinerant musician?"

Tia's mouth dropped open. "Please say you're joking."

As they approached the steps leading to the speakeasy's doorway, Loki whispered, "Listen to that guitar and tell me I'm joking." He paused, and waited until she shook her head in amazement. "Now, one thing you should know: anyone who looks at us will see someone they've seen here before but don't know well enough to talk to. I find it's easier than changing both our clothes and our skin color .In a community like this, strangers are a novelty. That's the last thing we need. So, are you ready to go in?"

Tia nodded, still a little stunned. What followed was an experience she would remember for the rest of her life.

It wasn't just the music, which was amazing. Robert Johnson was a young, handsome man who could clearly have just about any woman in the room, and he played his guitar like a virtuoso. There was a woman singer, and her voice was the clearest, most beautiful thing Tia had heard in a very long time.

It wasn't the dancing, either, although that, too, amazed her. Although each couple was clearly focused on their partner to the exclusion of all else, and the dance moves were more sensual than anything she'd seen in a modern club, they all moved like a flock of birds, intricate and graceful.

No, it was the total experience, she decided. It was the very fact that she, Tia Beausoleil, was in a ‘20's speakeasy, listening to Robert Johnson and grinding her hips against a devastatingly handsome demigod who only had eyes for her, who had brought her here to this place and this time just because he knew she would love it. As they rocked in each other's arms, she leaned forward and whispered, "Thank you for this."

Loki pressed his lips to her ear, his breath warm against her skin, and whispered softly, "It was my pleasure, gorgeous girl."

All too soon, it was time to go back. The band took a break, and Loki took the opportunity to take Tia by the hand and lead her to the door. As they walked down the country road, hand in hand, Tia said, "I have to ask. Where would you have brought me if I had been in a miniskirt and 4-inch heels?"

Loki shrugged. "I try not to plan too much. You've read the myths - that never ends well for me. But I was thinking Paris. Every New Orleans girl should see Paris at least once in her lifetime."

"Wow," Tia said. "I'm almost disappointed. Almost."

"Well," he said thoughtfully, "it would have been an easier answer. I mean, every New Orleans girl should see Paris. But not every girl would enjoy one of Robert Johnson's sets. I thought of that after we talked."

"I get it," she smiled.

Loki casually snapped his fingers, and they were transported from the Mississippi dirt road back to the cemetery. As they sat back down on the blanket, Tia put a hand on his cheek, then leaned in for a kiss. Loki threaded his hands into her hair as she snaked her other arm around his waist and pulled him closer. 

When they broke apart, he said a little breathlessly, "What was that for? Not that I'm complaining."

She looked into his eyes and smiled. "That was a thank you for a truly wonderful time."

"Oh, gorgeous girl. Remind me to take you ... everywhere."

"Remind me to go ... everywhere," she murmured, and kissed him again.

***

When they finally folded the blanket and left the cemetery, it was so late, it was almost early. They walked hand in hand through the sleeping city until they arrived at Tia's street. As they approached her building, he said hesitantly, "Remember that whole 'good things come to those who wait' thing?"

She looked at him sidelong. "You read my mind."

He continued, "It's not that I don't want ... wait, what?"

She giggled. "I said, you read my mind. I agree. This is ... way more intense than I thought it would be, and I'd like to see where it goes."

"Yes, exactly," he said, clearly relieved. 

"That's not to say that I'm not going to tempt the hell out of both of us," she said as they reached her door.

"Thank Odin for that," he said fervently and pulled her close. He brushed his mouth against hers. “And that’s not to say I’m not going to help.”

“Lord love a helpful man,” she said. Then she put her hands on his face and kissed him with everything she had. 

She hadn’t been entirely sure what kissing a demigod after a second date would be like, but she definitely wasn’t disappointed by the experience. He tasted like sugar and sweet wine, and his mouth was warm and glorious, especially when he moved from her lips to her throat. She had her hands in his hair, alternately threading and pulling, and the sounds he made when she got a little rougher made her press her body even closer to his. It was incredible, considering they both still had all their clothes and had yet to put hands anywhere that wasn’t already exposed. When he entwined his fingers with hers and pinned her against the door to her building, she thought she’d come out of her skin, a feeling that got a little more intense when he ran his tongue along her clavicles and nipped at the skin there. She gasped aloud at the pleasure of it. 

He lifted his head to kiss her again, and when he groaned into her mouth, she was ready to yank him through the damn door and up the stairs. But then he pulled back just a little, just enough to speak even as his arms were locked around her tight. “Okay,” he said. his breath coming in harsh pants. “I should go. I should really, really go.”

“Yes, absolutely,” she said, a second before kissing him again. “You should definitely go,” she murmured against his mouth, her hand sliding into his shirt and along the skin of his chest.

He smiled, then kissed her, his teeth gently grabbing her lower lip, his tongue soothing the marks he’d made. “You are not making this easy for me,” he said. His dug his fingers into her ribs and pulled her hips against his. 

She grinned when she felt exactly what a good job she was doing, and wrapped one of her legs around his calf. “Third date, right?” she asked. They weren’t quite kissing, but they definitely weren’t not kissing, either. “What time should I expect you?”

“Fuck, how much sleep do you need?” He gripped her hair again, his kiss all teeth and tongue and the very limits of control. He dragged his mouth along her cheek to her ear, nibbling on her earlobe just before he whispered, “How’s two o’clock sound?”

“Sounds like about ten hours from now,” she said. “Sounds like I cannot fucking wait.”

He pulled back to look her in the eyes and smooth her hair back from her face. “I will make it worth it,” he said. 

“That,” she said, “I can definitely believe.” 

He kissed her once more, then gave her a gentle push her toward her own door as he took a step back. “Go inside,” he said with a smile. “Or I will forget that I am trying my best to be a gentleman.”

She unlocked the door without looking, without taking her eyes off him. “And here I thought you were a Trickster.”

He winked. “First time for everything, gorgeous girl. Two o’clock. Be dressed and ready. Or at least be ready. Right now, I’m not all that fussed about dressed.”

“Bring me coffee,” she smiled.

“And more.” He leaned in for one last kiss. “Good night, hunter.”

“Good night, trickster.” She ran her hand through his hair. “See you later.”

“God, yes.” He was standing on the step, still smiling, when she closed the door.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love. Two more chapters to go! Please let me know I should keep posting :) (For more Gabriel and Tia, read our series, "How to Make a Family."


End file.
